Bucks blow late lead, but beat Celts in OT

After blowing a seven-point lead with 33 seconds left in regulation, Milwaukee regrouped for a hard-fought 99-94 victory over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

Monta Ellis led the way with 27 points and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute added 20. Larry Sanders had a career-best 20 rebounds and added 17 points. He pulled down 18 defensive rebounds.

Sanders also blocked a three-point attempt by Paul Pierce late in overtime to preserve the victory, after Brandon Jennings made two free throws for a 97-94 lead with 18.5 seconds left.

Ellis scored two key baskets and a free throw in overtime and it was the foul shot that broke a 94-94 tie and gave the Bucks the lead for good.

Ellis missed the second free throw but Ersan Ilyasova tipped the ball out to Ellis, and Boston was forced to foul.

"I saw somebody in a red jersey and I tried to tip the ball on the side," said Ilyasova, who inadvertently caught Celtics forward Jeff Green with an elbow on the play. Green had to be helped off the floor while holding a towel over his face. He suffered a bruised left cheek and chipped teeth.

Pierce hit the game-tying three-pointer with 2.5 seconds left in regulation and led the Celtics with 35 points. With the Bucks leading, 88-85, Jennings had a pass stolen by Rajon Rondo, leading to a missed three by Jason Terry. But the ball was tapped out to Pierce, who did not miss.

Rondo scored the first basket in overtime but Sanders scored on a tip-in before Ellis went to work.

The Bucks (14-11) won three of four in the season series with the Celtics (13-13) and swept the two games at TD Garden.

"I enjoy playing against KG (Kevin Garnett)," Sanders said. "He's a real competitor. I feel like he's going to bring it all so it gets me mentally prepared to bring it all myself."

Sanders said he made it his mission to grab every rebound.

"I knew they were going to be a little slow on the boards and they were going to try to contain us in transition," Sanders said. "So I knew those D-boards were going to be real important, getting clean ones and getting out on the break. It helped us."

Pierce was the primary offense for Boston, nearly matching the 40 points he scored on Wednesday against Cleveland. He was 13 for 23 from the field but the Celtics shot only 38.3% as a team, including a 6-of-22 night by Garnett and 1-of-15 shooting by Terry.

"I mean we had point-blank looks at the rim all through the game and one of the best shooters in the NBA in Jet (Terry)," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "And Kevin ... And I thought Paul had to work way too hard for his shots."